Tag: attorney

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision on the preliminary injunction by the US District Court for the District of Maryland against enforcement of both the first Executive Order (“EO-1”) and the second Executive Order (“EO-2”) on May 25th, 2017, and then amended the decision on June 15th, 2017. The Fourth Circuit stated that the main issue in the case was whether the US Constitution “protects Plaintiffs’ right to challenge an Executive Order that in text speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination.” The court found that the […]

Removal proceedings (also called “hearings”) in the US are conducted by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”), Office of Immigration Court (“IC”). An immigration judge is an employee of EOIR and, generally, is a lawyer who has experience in immigration law prior to becoming a judge. Immigration Courts preside over cases within their geographical jurisdiction, i.e., the Baltimore IC handles all cases for persons who live within the State of Maryland; the Newark IC handles all cases for persons who live within the State of New Jersey, etc. If a person decides to move to a location outside of […]

There are many ways to get legal permission to work in the U.S. – proof of that permission is an Employment Authorization Document (“EAD” or work permit), which Citizenship and Immigration Services (“CIS”) issues. The EAD is issued once CIS approves an application (Form I-765) for the EAD, which must have a basis other than “I want to work in the U.S.” The EAD has a picture of the person, his or her name, date of birth, A-number (the case number assigned by DHS to that person), and the dates of issuance and expiration. It also contains the section of […]

Asylum is a form of relief from removal that is granted if a person is able to prove that he or she will be harmed on return to their native country. The applicant must file the application (Form I-589) within one year of their entry into the U.S., whether they enter legally or not. The person must prove that they belong to one or more of several groups facing harm, on the basis of political opinion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group or religion. The individual must prove that he or she has suffered past persecution or has […]

Usually, the philosophy of the law in the U.S. is that a person is innocent until proven guilty of any violation of the law. When it comes to marriage to an undocumented person already in the U.S., however, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (“CIS”) has a presumption of fraud until the parties to the marriage have proven that their marriage is not solely for the purpose of obtaining lawful permanent residence – the “green card.” There is a heightened perception that natives of Nigeria and Ghana are more likely than not to engage in marriage fraud and those marriages are […]